Well, I have about 20 unfinished posts drafted, but it feels like this is the time to talk, to connect, to share ideas. A few shorts weeks ago, we heard about this new virus in China. We felt slightly concerned, but it was far away. Then within the last few days, things changed more rapidly than we could have ever imagined, and we went from concerned, to stockpiling to self-isolating, practically overnight. Now schools are closed, business are increasingly closing their doors, cities and states are declaring states of emergency… We are suddenly navigating a new normal. Every day is a new adventure, a new challenge.

I am not going to try and share facts about COVID – there are way too many of them out there to keep straight as it is. I am not going to share links about where to find the facts, or the latest news on the subject – again way too much of that already, and I frankly think we may need a break from the constant assault of news. All I want to do, all I can do, is share my feelings and my experiences.

So, here we are, almost a week since schools closed, trying to understand how to live this new life. My boys had missed 2 weeks of school before the doors closed. They had colds and coughs, and it really didn’t seem to be the time to send even slightly sick kids to school. So we have had a lot of time together lately. But now, the dynamic has changed. I feel obliged to teach them things, and they are acutely aware of the change in routine, the newness, the strangeness of staying home beyond a few days, beyond their sniffles. And of course, there is the general anxiety. Theirs, mine, the neighbors’, grandparents’, friends’… We are trying to limit our exposure to news and the virus. Trying to find ways to be kind to ourselves, to one another, to our community – from afar. Trying to enjoy the time together beneath the cloud of COVID.

So yes, this is traumatic for most of us, in one way or another. We are the lucky ones, struggling to figure out ‘homeschooling’ and how far to stay from others at the park. Many have much more to worry about – how to pay the bills, how to feed their families how to care for kids when they still have to go to work, whether they will be able to get the medical care they need… But none the less, even the lucky ones are all dealing with some sort of trauma. Parents and teachers are grappling with ways to care for kids in new ways, grandparents can’t be with their families, children are out of sorts and trying to make sense of their new days at home. Some parents are weirdly over-attentive, and full of routines and charts, some parents are desperately trying to work at home, leaving kids to hours of TV, some may even be playing board games endlessly. No matter what, these days are different for kids, and different can be very hard on children. So we try to stay calm, at least on the outside, and do what we can to be ‘normal’, like get up and have breakfast and brush our teeth. We tell them it’s our job to take care of them, and they don’t need to worry. We struggle to set up routines for our unstructured days, to create a semblance of order. (More on all this soon… I will share some resources for talking to kids about COVID and managing their anxiety and your own. I will also share some activities we have done, and hope you will do the same. Because stir crazy is real!)

Amidst the trauma, the challenge, the lack of toilet paper, the empty grocery store shelves, we also have a unique opportunity. We have the chance to spend real time with our families – those that share our home that is. We have an opportunity to show care and concern for those further afield with calls, online grocery orders, drawings from the kids, music played on the square for all to enjoy from their homes… We get to do all those projects we have put off for months, or didn’t have the time or energy to do. Most importantly, we have time to slow down, take stock, and take care of ourselves. And we have a call to be kind and to show some compassion – everyone is handling this differently, finding their owns ways to cope, to have fun, to protect or assist their communities. Let that be OK. And find your own way, even if that means lots of mess, lots of TV, and whole days in pajamas.